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Findings Underscore the Importance Retailers Must Place on App Promotion to Drive Awareness and Adoption Ahead of the Holiday Season

Criteo, the advertising platform for the open Internet, has released its second Global Commerce Review of the year with data gathered during the second quarter of 2018. The report analyzed browsing and purchasing data from over 5,000 retailers in more than 80 countries and found that shoppers continue to embrace mobile web and smartphone app technology for purchases, especially among pure-play online retailers.

The key takeaways for the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region from Criteo’s Q2 Global Commerce Review:

• Mobile accounts for 47 percent of transactions in MEA, a rise of 41 percent from a year ago

• In MEA, the conversion rate on shopping apps is 6 times higher than on mobile web

• Retailers with a brick-and-mortar presence, on average, tend to fall behind their online-only competitors when it comes to capturing in-app demand.

Michele Iozzo, Managing Director for the Middle East & Africa, Criteo, says, “Mobile continues to command a higher share of the online transactions pie driven by high smartphone penetration across the MEA region. The study has revealed a year-on-year increase of the share of In-App Transactions for retailers who promote their shopping app, proving that it isn’t enough to just launch an app, but it should also be supported with a promotional strategy. The need to understand the nuanced browsing and purchasing patterns of customers on mobile is thus imperative if retailers want to benefit from the upcoming holiday season.”

Additional Q2 Global Commerce Review research highlights:

• Shopping App Success Hinges on Smart Promotion

- Globally, mobile dominates among retailers that promote their shopping apps. Criteo tracked a 30 percent year-over-year increase in the share of in-app transactions among these retailers.

- For online-only retailers who promote their app, a full 31 percent of transactions come from the in-app purchase channel.

- Brick-and-mortar retailers that promote a shopping app see fewer in-app transactions (21 percent) compared to pure online players, highlighting the opportunity for these retailers to further integrate app technology into shoppers’ experience before, during and after they visit a physical store.

The Q2 Global Commerce Review serves as a powerful benchmarking tool for marketers as they navigate shopper behaviors across desktop, mobile web and apps. To further enhance how the second quarter data can be turned into actionable insights in advance of the holiday shopping season, Criteo has also launched its Seasonal Sales Dashboard. The free online tool empowers retailers to analyze how shoppers behaved globally during the 2017 holiday push.

Q2 Global Commerce Review Methodology

The Global Commerce Review analyzed individual browsing and purchasing data from over 5,000 retailers, in more than 80 countries, during the second quarter of 2018.